Ask the Community

Why is the payment I sent pending? What if I want to cancel it?

If you sent a payment or made a purchase that is pending or unclaimed, that means the recipient hasn’t accepted it yet.

Only payments that are sent to unregistered or unconfirmed email addresses and mobile numbers may be canceled. These payments will have a status of “Unclaimed” and will show in the “Pending” section of your PayPal account.

If the payment is completed, you won’t be able to cancel it. You’ll need to contact the recipient (or seller) and request a refund.

You can only cancel an unclaimed payment that has a "Cancel" link next to it. If the payment you sent unclaimed for 30 days, it will be canceled automatically and refunded to you. If you sent the payment using a Debit or Credit card, the refund will credit to the card used. It may take up to 30 days for the card to be credited. If you sent your payment using a bank account and the payment is canceled, it will be refunded to your PayPal balance. Once the payment is in your balance you can withdraw the funds to your bank account.

If the recipient doesn’t agree to refund your money, you may be able to open a dispute in the Resolution Center, where you'll be able to communicate directly with the recipient/seller and try to resolve any issues.

We’re sorry, the page you’re looking for is no longer available. Please try your search again in our Help Centre if you have a question or want to contact us.

Related Articles(1-5of19)

Can I cancel a payment that I've already sent? Summary page On the , locate the pending payment . Click on the payment.Why is my payment from a sale on eBay not available immediately? Pending payments are generally released three days after we can confirm delivery, but sometimes the delivery information takes a bit longer to update. If it’s been three days and your payment is still pending, the information is still processing and the payment should be available soon. Please note that pending payments can’t be released before you meet these requirements.Why is my payment being held for 21 days? If there aren’t any issues with your transaction, such as a customer filing a dispute, the payment will move to your available balance within 21 days of receipt (the money may not be released until later in the day). Your payments may be placed on hold in your pending PayPal balance because: You’re a new seller with PayPal (whether on or off eBay)Why is my refund pending? We start to process your refund as soon as the seller sends the refund to you. A pending refund usually means the seller is sending the payment directly from their bank account - depending on the banks involved, it can take up to 7 business days for a refund to be deposited to your PayPal account. Your money will be available when the payment status changes from “pending’ to ‘completed.’ If the payment fails, the transaction status will change from ‘pending’ to canceled’ and the amount will not be credited.How do I send a reminder for a money request or invoice? Here’s how to remind someone that you requested money from them: ... Money requests and invoices will be under "Pending" on your Summary page. Click Send a reminder under the payment. If you can't find the payment on the Summary page it can be found on your Activity page. ... When you get paid, we’ll send you an email and automatically add the money to your PayPal balance. If you don’t get paid within 30 days, your request is automatically canceled.How can I view the status of my refund? Pending : ... refund status is Pending , it means ... Canceled : The pending refund could not ... Where is my refund sent to? How your money is refunded depends on how you made the original payment . ... These statuses refer to the temporary hold on a payment rather than the payment itself. A hold is placed on a transaction (for example when a refund is pending ) and is later removed ... when the transaction either completes or is canceled (see above). When checking the status of your refund you should refer to the original transaction, in the related payments , not the hold.What does the status of my sent payments mean? Reversed: Payment canceled by sender Denied:Refund or cancel payment Contact the seller directly. Access your page, click the payment you sent to the seller to view the recipients contact information.How do I send a payment in another currency? for information on those fees. Note: Unfortunately, we’ve had to stop allowing personal payments to be sent to and from Israel.Can I cancel a money request or invoice that I've already sent to someone? Click Cancel under the pending request on your Summary or Activity page. Confirm by clicking YesHow can I get my held payment released faster? Here are some tips that may help make your payment available sooner:What are the payment types when I send money? Unfortunately, we’ve had to stop allowing personal payments to be sent to and from India. If you’re sending money for a personal payment to India, we ask that you find another way to pay until we’re able to restore personal payments to this area.What is Payment Review? If we review a payment , we'll send you an email within minutes letting you know that your payment is Pending while we investigate. We also ask you not to ship your items until our review is complete. Payment reviews typically take 24 to 48 hours to complete.How do I request a refund? If you sent the payment using a Debit or Credit card, the refund will credit to the card used. It may take up to 30 days for the card to be credited. If you sent your payment using a bank account and the payment is canceled , it will be refunded to your PayPal balance within 3-5 business days.How will PayPal let me know when a payment is under Payment Review? If you use PayPal Instant Payment Notification (IPN) or an API, the payment appears as Pending with reason of Payment Review. We'll send another IPN notification when the Payment Review is complete.Why is the order status pending? If the order status is "Pending", your order has been received by the seller, but your payment has not yet been processed. For most purchases, the seller will complete the payment within a few days of receiving the order. For purchases of goods, many sellers will complete the payment when they are ready to ship your purchase. For some purchases, such as services, rentals, or hotel stays, the seller will complete the payment after your purchase is fully delivered.How do I remove a debit or credit card from my PayPal account? Click the card you want to remove. ... You cannot remove a card if you have a pending transaction or if your card was the backup payment method for a recent instant bank payment . ... If you remove your only card and have a confirmed bank account, you’ll no longer be able to make instant bank payments . Instead they’ll be sent as eChecks, which take 3 to 4 working days to process.How do I report unauthorized PayPal account activity? Remember, you’re 100% protected against unauthorized transactions sent from your account. ... Be sure to check your pre-approved billing agreement payments . ... Here's how to check and cancel your pre-approved billing agreements. ... Click Payments Click Manage pre-approved payments ... Click CancelWill an email be sent to my buyer when I cancel a Money Request/Invoice? No. To avoid confusion, no cancellation email will be sent when you cancel a Money Request or Invoice.